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Gorsemoor Primary School

Gorsemoor Primary School

Growing together, hand in hand

Health and Safety

Respiratory Infections including Covid-19 

 

If your child feels unwell with symptoms of a respiratory infection or returns a positive PCR test result, please contact the school office on 01543 274788 or email to notify us:

 

office@gorsemoor.staffs.sch.uk .

 

If you do have to notify us of your child's absence, please give the following information:

 Child’s name

 Child’s class

 Date (and time) symptoms commenced

 Date of test (if applicable)

 Date last in school

 Contact telephone number

 

 

 

Risk Assessments

March Full Opening Plans

 

September Opening Plans

Useful Documents

School Coronavirus Updates 2019-2020

Coronavirus Update 20.03.2020

 

Please read the guidance below to assess whether you will qualify for childcare provision, at Gorsemoor during the national school closures. If you think you are eligible, then please fill in the online form linked below and return to school no later than 10am today Friday 20th March. We apologise for short notice but the government documentation was only published just before midnight last night. Prompt response to the online form will enable us to offer limited childcare provision from Monday 23rd March.

 

 

If parents/workers think they fall within the critical categories (please read below) you must confirm with your employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, your specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.

 

 

 

The Guidance for schools, colleges and local authorities on maintaining educational provision was published at midnight on 19 March and states that “if children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.” That is why the government has closed all schools and asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible. The latest guidance makes it clear that the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.

 

At Gorsemoor, we will be providing care for a limited number of children - namely children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

 

Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

 

 

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

 

  1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.

 

  1. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.

 

  1. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.

 

  1. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

 

If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision.

 

Critical Categories

 

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

 

Education and childcare

This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

 

Key public services

This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

 

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

 

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

 

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

 

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

 

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

 

 

Coronavirus Update 19.03.2020

 

The only pupils entitled to on-site educational provision from Monday 23rd March are those who belong to certain key groups. Further information and clarification about these key groups  will be communicated to schools later today. During the next two days, we will be working to clarify what this announcement means for the school, for our pupils and for you. As soon as we receive this communication, we will be in contact with relevant parents to confirm arrangements.

 

Coronavirus Update 17.03.2020

 

Please see the letter above for the latest school guidance. Yesterday, the Government introduced new guidance on whole household isolation in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:

 

  • If you live alone and you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home for 7 days from when your symptoms started
  • If you live with others and you or another member of the household have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. It is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community for anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.
  • The symptoms are:

    The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here:

  • A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)
  • A new, continuous cough
  • The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here:

Coronavirus Update 13.03.2020

 

It is now the case that any pupil with 'a new continuous cough and/or high temperature' should self-isolate for seven days.  Please contact the office on 01543 274788 to let us know if our child is unable to attend school.  Government advice is that at the end of the seven day period, you should telephone 111 or consult https://111.nhs.uk/

 

 

Coronavirus Update 12.03.2020 

 

You are likely to be aware of the outbreak of Coronavirus and the subsequent confirmed cases in the UK. At Gorsemoor, we take the health and safety of our pupils and staff very seriously, so we’re sharing guidance from Public Health England on steps you should be taking.

 

There are currently no confirmed cases at the school, but we will keep you informed about any developments and ensure we are keeping the school clean to prevent any potential spread of the virus.

 

The Department for Education has launched a new helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 (more commonly known as Corona virus) related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:

 

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email:
DfE.Coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

 

As we are a maintained school, we are receiving the latest updates from Staffordshire County Council. They have provided us with some frequently asked questions which we have added below for your information.

 

Parents can register to receive the latest county council Coronavirus updates using the following link. Parents can also sign up for the county council school closure alerts.

Coronavirus Information 27.02.2020

 

We would like to reassure parents that we are regularly seeking the latest government advice with regards to the coronavirus. We are following the Department for Education and Public Health England COVID-19: Guidance for educational settings, updated 25th February 2020. We have copied the information below for your convenience.

 

A useful website for children and parents can be found here at https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/staying-healthy/sneezing-coughs-and-colds/

 

1. Information about the virus

A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China in January 2020.

The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. This means that if a person remains well 14 days after contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus, it is unlikely that they have been infected.

The following symptoms may develop in the 14 days after exposure to someone who has COVID-19 infection:

  • cough
  • difficulty in breathing
  • fever

Generally, these infections can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. There is no evidence that children are more affected than other age groups – very few cases have been reported in children.

 

2. How COVID-19 is spread

From what we know about other coronaviruses, spread of COVID-19 is most likely to happen when there is close contact (within 2 metres) with an infected person. It is likely that the risk increases the longer someone has close contact with an infected person.

Droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes (termed respiratory secretions) containing the virus are most likely to be the most important means of transmission.

There are 2 routes by which people could become infected:

  • secretions can be directly transferred into the mouths or noses of people who are nearby (within 2 metres) or could be inhaled into the lungs
  • it is also possible that someone may become infected by touching a surface or object that has been contaminated with respiratory secretions and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes (such as touching a door knob or shaking hands then touching own face).

There is currently no good evidence that people who do not have symptoms are infectious to others.

3. Preventing spread of infection

There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus.

There are general principles anyone can follow to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:

  • washing your hands often - with soap and water, or use alcohol sanitiser if handwashing facilities are not available. This is particularly important after taking public transport
  • covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in a bin. See Catch it, Bin it, Kill it
  • people who feel unwell should stay at home and should not attend work or any education or childcare setting
  • pupils, students, staff and visitors should wash their hands:
    • before leaving home
    • on arrival at school
    • after using the toilet
    • after breaks and sporting activities
    • before food preparation
    • before eating any food, including snacks
    • before leaving school
  • use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available
  • avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
  • avoid close contact with people who are unwell
  • clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
  • if you are worried about your symptoms or those of a child or colleague, please call NHS 111. Do not go directly to your GP or other healthcare environment
  • see further information on the Public Health England Blog and the NHS UK website.

PHE has a suite of materials that contains public health advice about how you can help stop the spread of viruses, like those that cause COVID-19, by practicing good respiratory and hand hygiene. To access, download and share this information you will need to register for an account which only takes a couple of minutes.

Face masks for the general public, pupils or students, or staff are not recommended to protect from infection, as there is no evidence of benefit from their use outside healthcare environments.

People who have returned from Category 1 specified countries/areas in the last 14 days should self-isolate. This includes avoiding attending an education setting or work until 14 days after they return.

People who have returned from Category 2 specified countries/areas in the last 14 days, are advised to stay at home if they develop symptoms. All other pupils or students and staff should continue to attend school or university, including their siblings attending the same or a different school (unless advised not to by public health officials).

 

4. What to do if children, pupils, students or staff become unwell and believe they have been exposed to COVID-19 (either through travel to a specified country or area or contact with a confirmed case)

Call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency (if they are seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk), and if appropriate, explain which country they have returned from in the last 14 days. You can do this on their behalf if this is easier. People who become unwell should be advised not to go to their GP, pharmacy, urgent care centre or a hospital.

Whilst you wait for advice from NHS 111 or an ambulance to arrive, try to find somewhere safe for the unwell person to sit which is at least 2 metres away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be isolated behind a shut door, such as a staff office or meeting room. If it is possible to open a window, do so for ventilation. They should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in the bin. If no bin is available, put the tissue in a bag or pocket for disposing in a bin later. If you don’t have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. The room will need to be cleaned once they leave.

If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical assistance, they should use a separate bathroom if available.

Make sure that children and young people know to tell a member of staff if they feel unwell.

 

5. What to do if a case of COVID-19 (pupil, student or staff) is suspected in your childcare or education setting

If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or educational setting, no restrictions or special control measures are required while laboratory test results for COVID-19 are awaited. There is no need to close the setting or send other learners or staff home. As a precautionary measure, the NHS are currently testing a very large number of people who have travelled back from affected countries, the vast majority of whom test negative. Therefore, until the outcome of test results is known there is no action that staff members need to take apart from cleaning specific areas (section 13) and disposing of waste (section 14).

Once the results arrive, those who test negative for COVID-19 will be advised individually about return to education.

 

6. What to do if a case of COVID-19 (pupil, student or staff) is confirmed in your childcare or education setting

The childcare or educational setting will be contacted by the local Public Health England Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken. An assessment of each childcare or education setting will be undertaken by the Health Protection Team with relevant staff. Advice on the management of pupils or students and staff will be based on this assessment.

The Health Protection Team will also be in contact with the patient directly to advise on isolation and identifying other contacts, and will be in touch with any contacts of the patient to provide them with appropriate advice. Advice on cleaning of communal areas such as classrooms, changing rooms and toilets will be given by the Health Protection Team and is outlined later in this document.

If there is a confirmed case, a risk assessment will be undertaken by the educational establishment with advice from the local Health Protection Team. In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary but this will be a local decision based on various factors such as establishment size and pupil mixing.

 

7. What to do if pupils, students or staff in your institution are contacts of a confirmed case of COVID-19 who was symptomatic while attending your childcare or educational setting

The definition of a contact includes:

  • any pupil, student or staff member in close face-to-face or touching contact including those undertaking small group work (within 2 metres of the case for more than 15 minutes)
  • talking with or being coughed on for any length of time while the individual is symptomatic
  • anyone who has cleaned up any bodily fluids of the individual
  • close friendship groups
  • any pupil, student or staff member living in the same household as a confirmed case, or equivalent setting such as boarding school dormitory or other student accommodation

Contacts are not considered cases and if they are well, they are very unlikely to have spread the infection to others, however:

  • they will be asked to self-isolate at home, or within their boarding school dormitory room, for 14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case and follow the home isolation advice sheet
  • they will be actively followed up by the Health Protection Team
  • if they develop any symptoms within their 14-day observation period they should call NHS 111 for assessment
  • if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be tested for COVID-19
  • if they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call handler or ambulance control that the person has a history of potential contact with COVID-19
  • if they are unwell at any time within their 14-day observation period and they test positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be treated for the infection

Family and friends who have not had close contact (as listed above) with the original confirmed case do not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities such as attending childcare or educational settings or work, unless they become unwell. If they become unwell, they should call NHS 111 and explain their symptoms and discuss any known contact with the case to consider if they need further assessment.

If a confirmed case occurs in an educational setting the local Health Protection Team will provide you with advice and will work with the headteacher, principal and or management team of that setting. Outside those that are defined as close contacts, the rest of the school does not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities attending educational establishments or work as usual, unless they become unwell. If they become unwell they will be assessed as a suspected case depending on their symptoms. This advice applies to teaching staff and children in the rest of the class who are not in a close friendship group or children undertaking small group work. The decision as to whether pupils, students and staff fall into this contact group or the closer contact group will be made between the Health Protection Team, the educational setting and (if they are old enough) the student. Advice should be given as follows:

  • if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be asked to self-isolate and should seek medical advice from NHS 111
  • if they are unwell at any time within the 14 days of contact and they are tested and are positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be treated as such.
  •  

8. What to do if pupils, students or staff in your childcare or educational setting have travelled from any Category 1 specified country/area in the past 14 days

If an individual falls into this category, contact NHS 111 for further advice:

  • if they are currently well, they should self-isolate for 14 days and you should follow the advice as above for contacts of confirmed cases in the educational setting
  • if they become unwell please call NHS 111 immediately for them to be assessed by an appropriate specialist. You should follow the advice as above for contacts of confirmed cases in the educational establishment. If they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call handler or ambulance control that the person has a history of recent travel to risk areas for COVID-19
  •  

9. What to do if a pupil, student or staff member has travelled from a Category 2 specified country/area in the last 14 days

If they are currently well:

  • they are advised to self-isolate only if they develop symptoms
  • they can continue to attend work or education
  • they do not need to avoid contact with other people
  • their family do not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities
  • testing people with no symptoms for COVID-19 is currently not recommended
  • it is useful to always take a mobile phone with them when they go out so that they can contact others if they do become unwell

If they become unwell:

  • they should stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as they would with other flu viruses (see this home isolation advice sheet).
  • they (or a family member, colleague or member of staff) should call NHS 111 immediately for them to be assessed by an appropriate specialist, as quickly as possible
  • they should stay at home and should not attend work or education
  • they should not go directly to their GP or other healthcare environment
  • if they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call handler or ambulance control that the person has a history of recent travel to risk areas for COVID-19
  • see further information and the Public Health England Blog

 

10. What to do if pupils, students or staff return from travel anywhere else in the world within the last 14 days

Currently there are minimal cases outside the risk areas and therefore the likelihood of an individual coming into contact with a confirmed case is low.

There is no need to advise any of these pupils, student or staff to avoid normal activities or educational settings unless they have had contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

If individuals are aware that they have had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 they should contact NHS 111 for further advice.

For the latest country specific information please visit NaTHNac Travel Pro.

 

11. School trips

Pupils, students and staff returning from school trips in specified countries/areas should follow the same advice as given above (sections 8, 9 and 10).

 

12. What to do with post, packages or food sent from specified countries/areas within the last 14 days

There is no need to change how you handle post, packages or food received from the affected regions. The virus does not survive well for long periods outside the body and so it is highly unlikely that COVID-19 can be spread through post or packages. It is highly unlikely that COVID-19 can be spread through food.

 

13. How to clean educational establishments where there were children, students or staff with suspected cases of COVID-19

Coronavirus symptoms are similar to a flu-like illness and include cough, fever, or shortness of breath. Once symptomatic, all surfaces that the suspected case has come into contact with must be cleaned using disposable cloths and household detergents, according to current recommended workplace legislation and practice.

These include:

  • all surfaces and objects which are visibly contaminated with body fluids
  • all potentially contaminated high-contact areas such as toilets, door handles, telephones

Public areas where a symptomatic individual has passed through and spent minimal time in (such as corridors) but which are not visibly contaminated with body fluids do not need to be specially cleaned and disinfected. If a person becomes ill in a shared space, these should be cleaned as detailed above.

 

14. What to do with rubbish in the educational establishment, including tissues, if children, students or staff become unwell with suspected COVID-19

All waste that has been in contact with the individual, including used tissues, and masks if used, should be put in a plastic rubbish bag and tied when full. The plastic bag should then be placed in a second bin bag and tied. It should be put in a safe place and marked for storage until the result is available. If the individual tests negative, this can be put in the normal waste.

Should the individual test positive, you will be instructed what to do with the waste.

 

15. Tools for use in childcare and educational settings

Use e-Bug resources recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence to teach pupils about hygiene. Key sections that may be useful are:

15.1 KS1: Horrid Hands and Super Sneezes

Horrid hands

Super sneezes

15.2 KS2: Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Hygiene

Hand hygiene

Respiratory hygiene

 

 

 
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